Headmistress

In 1977, Judith Banker-Barrett answered a small newspaper ad for the headmistress position at the Blue Bird School. With only five years' teaching experience, she got the job running the tiny, 40-pupil school in a rambling house on Berwick Road in Ruxton."

The headmistress' call for tolerance of homosexuality at a Baltimore County private school for girls has sparked a controversy that led to an emotional meeting with 150 parents yesterday.Parents at St. Paul's School for Girls in Brooklandville met with Headmistress Evelyn A. Flory for 90 minutes to discuss remarks she made that upset at least a dozen parents."These are our children," said Margaret Grasmick of Phoenix, a mother who is considering removing her ninth-grader from St. Paul's. "It is not the school's place to coach our children in how to view sexual orientation."

Oldfields School will install Dr. Kathleen Jameson as headmistress this morning at the school's campus in Sparks.Ceremonies will include the investiture blessing at Immanuel Episcopal Church, an academic procession of faculty and staff and lunch. Alumnae from across the country, trustees, students and faculty are expected to participate in the festivities on the 200-acre campus.Jameson is the sixth head of the 130-year-old school, and the first woman to lead the all-girls' school in more than 100 years.

For Sister Mary Ellis Denny, S.S.N.D., a former headmistress and principal of Notre Dame Preparatory School, the most important lesson that she could instill in her students was that of lifelong voluntarism.Sister Ellis, who created the school's social service program and was the driving force behind support of a school in war-torn El Salvador, died Wednesday of cancer at Villa Asumpta, the motherhouse of the Order of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Towson. She was 70.Described as being "charismatic, deeply spiritual, fiercely principled and fun," Sister Ellis was headmistress of the Dulaney Valley school from 1968 to 1979.

Like the school colors of blue and white, Sister Helen Marie Duffy has worn well at Notre Dame Preparatory School.As biology teacher, boarding mistress and role model, she has woven herself through the fabric of the girls' school for 59 years, her entire religious life. An administrator since 1970 and headmistress since 1979, she has established the Towson school's reputation for academic excellence, fostered what she sees as a need for "refinement" among young women and been a loving -- and demanding -- presence in the lives of more than 5,000 graduates.

Yet another mid-season replacement debuts, this one on UPN, while David Duchovny experiences a different kind of horror than he's used to on Fox."Mad About You" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Paul, Ira and a friend opt for a road trip, the better to experience some serious male bonding. But when the friend leaves them on a deserted highway well, would you want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with Paul or Ira? NBC."Kalifornia" (8 p.m.-10 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- Brad Pitt is a killer who obviously drinks too much coffee and Juliette Lewis is his dim-bulb girlfriend; David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes are the yuppies who need to be more careful about whom they take on their cross-country road trips.

Katharine Van Bibber, the Bryn Mawr School headmistress who helped lead the integration of the Baltimore private girls' school, died Nov. 12 of heart failure at Fairhaven Retirement Community in Sykesville. She was 93.Miss Van Bibber, a Bel Air native, retired in 1962 from the Melrose Avenue school where she had been headmistress since 1939.A 1920 graduate of the school, she earned her bachelor's degree in 1924 from Bryn Mawr College and taught math and physics at Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, and Brearley School in New York City before returning to Baltimore.

TOWSON -- The longtime headmistress of Notre Dame Preparatory School will retire at the end of the 1996-1997 school year.Sister Helen Marie Duffy, headmistress for 17 years, announced her impending retirement in a letter dated Friday to students, alumnae and parents. She has been at Notre Dame Prep, as teacher, administrator and headmistress, for all of her years as a nun; school officials said they do not know how long that has been.A search committee, chosen by the board of trustees, will select a new headmistress for the 600-student school, founded in 1873 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Ruth C. Dunlap, 77, NIH researcher, cellistRuth C. Dunlap, who retired in 1988 after 22 years as a medical researcher at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, died Tuesday of complications from cancer at her Columbia home. She was 77.For more than 20 years, she was a cellist in the Columbia Orchestra. She also was a member of chamber music groups and area golf leagues, and volunteered at Red Cross blood drives.Dr. Dunlap, known by her friends as "Toni," was born in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Her undergraduate degree was from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

The entire student body turned out to witness the swearing in of Evelyn Flory as the fifth headmistress of the St. Paul's School for Girls. She replaces the delightful Lila Lohr, who left to head New Jersey's Princeton Day School.Included in the service was a performance by the Saints, the school's elite music group, led by teacher Margie Farmer. They sang a lovely rendition of "Choose Something Like a Star,"written by contemporary choral composer Randall Thompson.After the performance, guests gathered in the school's Ward Center for a reception.